Justin Trudeau was brought to tears as he spoke of the ongoing feud with President Trump and the US-imposed tariffs that have rattled Canada in his final days as prime minister.
Trudeau, 53, appeared at a press conference on Thursday in Ottawa, where he discussed childhood health care, but became visibly emotional while vowing that he’s always “Canadians first.”
“On a personal level, I made sure that every single day in this office, I put Canadians first, and I have people’s backs, and that’s why I’m here to tell you all that we got you,” the outgoing PM said as he started tearing up.
“Even in the last days of this government, we will not let Canadians down today and well into the future. Because in the past few weeks, we’ve been working with our provincial and territorial partners to make sure that families can rely on this system, not just for years to come, but will allow this system to lock in to become something that no government a year from now, five years from now, 20 years from now, could ever go back on.”
Trudeau, who has served as prime minister since 2015, added that Canadians must be “very clear on the need to keep this going” as a new administration comes to power.
On Jan. 6, Trudeau announced that he would resign as leader of the Liberal Party after it appeared he could not win the next election.
He is expected to step down once his Liberal Party holds leadership elections on Sunday.
Once his party elects a new leader, the next Canadian election will be held no later than Oct. 20, 2025.
Since his return to office in January, Trump, 78, has repeatedly mocked the outgoing Canadian PM, referring to him as “governor” while he floated the idea of turning Canada into the “51st State” of the US.
Trump has also accused Trudeau of dragging his feet on a deal because he wants to prolong his stint as leader of the Labor Party.
“Believe it or not, despite the terrible job he’s done for Canada, I think that Justin Trudeau is using the Tariff problem, which he has largely caused, in order to run again for Prime Minister,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “So much fun to watch!”
Shortly after winning the presidency, Trump threatened to slap 25% across-the-board tariffs against Canada and Mexico if the two neighbors failed to crack down on the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants entering the US.
The 25% tariffs on imports took effect Tuesday after Trump said Canada and Mexico failed to meet his demands before
Trudeau accused the 47th president of declaring a “dumb” trade war on Canada and also accused Trump of trying to collapse the Canadian economy to make it easier to annex the country.
“We will never be the 51st state, but he can do damage to the Canadian economy, and he’s started this morning, but he is rapidly going to find out as American families are going to find out, that that’s going to hurt people on both sides of the border,” Trudeau said.
However, on Thursday, the commander in chief signed twin executive orders to pause tariffs for one month on imports subject to a pre-existing trade agreement he brokered during his last term in the Oval Office.
Roughly 38% of imports from Canada and 50% from Mexico are subject to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
They will not face the 25% across-the-board tariff Trump has implemented until April 2, according to a White House official.
The partial walkback follows Trump’s discussions with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday and Trudeau on Wednesday.
Trump signed off on the USMCA during his first term in 2018 as a revamp of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
The president is expected to pursue another round of tariffs on April 2, targeting countries with duties on American exports.
Canada is the world’s ninth-largest economy, with a GDP of $2.3 trillion — about the same size as New York state.
